LIVE OAK COUNTY — High speed Internet will be available to some residents before others in Live Oak County, according to Toni Rivas, a sales representative of VTX, the company that is building a fiber-optic network in the county and outlying areas.

George West was divided into nine phases (or sections of the city), with residents in the first phase initially receiving the service.

The same scenario is true for Three Rivers, only Three Rivers has 10 phases.

The first phases are ready. All a resident, who resides in that piece of the city, has to do is call for service, Rivas said. The second phase is close to being ready.

Rivas said residents, no matter what phase, can call in now for the service. When the area is ready, the resident would be notified.

VTX has initiated phases in Orange Grove, Agua Dulce and Jourdanton in addition to George West and Three Rivers.

Rivas said the goal is to start all of the first phases in December.

“Installation will be in late December, assuming everything works out right,” she said.

“We’ll take an order now,” she added.

“The first of December, we are looking to sign up anybody interested in Phase 1 and 2. We have to get enough orders to unleash crews,” Rivas said.

She said three steps to the process will take place: First, a connection to the network would have to be installed in conduit; second, a follow up connection would be made to an optical network terminal or ONT; and finally, a crew would do the actual installation inside the residence.

Rivas said VTX has no projection on when all phases will be finished, but the complete roll out should be finished in 2015.

“There are so many contingencies and snags that have gotten in the way ... dates (to finish) are dangerous,” she said.

Rivas said a crew is out going door-to-door and focusing on Phase 1 and Phase 2.

“We’ll keep pushing forward as the phases become ready for testing,” she said.

Rivas noted that updates to the project can be found on VTX1.net.

“And as phases become available, we will notify residences,” she said.

VTX1 received a grant from the USDA Rural Utilities Service stimulus funding for the project.

The total amount for the project is $78.6 million: The grant paid for 49 percent of the project while a loan paid the remaining 51 percent.

George West and Three Rivers are presently scheduled to launch in February 2013, however, the project is moving forward quickly so it is possible services in George West and Three Rivers could be available sooner, according to VTX COO Lew Brownfield.